Is Blogging Part of a Strong Internet Presence?
I was at the WILG Convention in March and talking to a leading vendor of legal websites. They had a white paper on what a law firm should do to maintain a strong internet presence. Lots of stuff in there that cost a lot of money (SEO, Google Adwords….), but it didn’t mention blogs at all. Seriously.
It amazes me how behind the times that major marketing ‘gurus’ are and how slow they are to integrate blogs into their thinking. Even when they are advocating an internet presence. Let’s see, I’ve heard net/tech gurus at ATLA/AAJ, Southern Trial Lawyers, Virginia Trial Lawyers, Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers and WILG Conventions talk about net presence and NONE of them mentioned blogs.
I guess it makes it that much easier for the rest of us to look smart.
Even the ABA Tech show does not give any attention to blogging. Might it be that "Big Law" is in control of all of this? Hmmm?
Grant,
One of the problems is that the bigger the conference, the longer out they schedule things. I know AAJ/ATLA schedules their speakers about a year in advance. That makes it hard to stay on top of topics.
But what I was surprised about was that tech companies that provide websites and turnkey internet solutions really didn't push blogs.
At this point, if they don't want to bother, that leaves the playing field less crowded.
Dave -- you pose a great question, give your answer, but don't say why you believe that way. I have toyed with the idea, but am unconvinced of a blog as a marketing tool. Doesn't mean it's not worthwhile, fun, informative, etc. But in terms of getting new business, I am not convinced. You are in the best position of anyone in South Carolina to convince us. So please make the case and explain WHY you think it's a great marketing tool and what "market" you refer to (I assume it's the referral market). I am not yet sure how blogging as marketing fits with the informational (not billboard) law firm sites that the target clientele would utilize.
Not every law firm should have a blog. I've seen law blogs that make a decision for me not to ever do business with them.
More specifically, it's usually disgruntled, newly graduated, lawyers who blog about the law firms they work for. They don't hold back, and their blogs are nothing more than viscious gosspip blogs that if I was their boss, I would fire them.
Who wants to hire a law firm that has unhappy lawyers who trash their firms and co-workers?
